What I learned by opening my studio to the public:
I need people. That’s nothing new but it is an awakening to my
need to craft more ways to share my work. We artists need isolation in which to
create. But we also need opportunities to talk with interested people. An open
studio accomplishes that. I sure enjoyed this party!
Being open six hours for two days isn’t terribly taxing. The
hardest part was preparing and thanks to friends that wasn’t so bad either. I will
do this again.
It would be better to be open two weekends to better
accommodate people’s schedules. Early fall is a good time to do this.
It was a good idea to publicize the event on Facebook and my
blog as well as an email blast. Next time I'll mail invitations, too.
People have good taste. They bought my best work and passed
on some works that I shouldn’t have even offered for sale. Limit what I show.
I thought that framed pieces would sell better than works
that weren’t framed. That didn’t happen, perhaps because unframed work is less
expensive even though I charged only what the frames cost me to buy and assemble.
There was great variety in the work I displayed, perhaps too
much. I think I’ll narrow my focus.
Work larger. I’ve been doing small works because of storage
issues but if I grab more opportunities to show work larger pieces will
be an advantage.
Several professional artists who were here convinced me that
my work is worthy and that I should seek gallery representation and enter
shows. I will do just that.
People like to see something to hang their hat on. Purely
abstract work didn’t interest buyers for the most part, but the abstraction of
reality was appealing. They like flowers and trees and horses. My map series
were quite a draw because people are used to reading maps to navigate so they
moved in close and ‘read’ my paintings. They
try to read words. They are highly interested in the stories that are reflected
in the paintings and loved to hear me talk about the back-story of each work.
Since my work tends to be narrative and personal it’s easy to talk about it.
Gosh, I loved doing this open studio. Thanks a bunch to you
who attended and I hope that more of you will come visit me someday.
People were interested in seeing me demonstrate some of my
collage techniques.
I am planning to start teaching again, probably something to
do with collage. I can handle up to 5 students in my studio and if there’s a
larger enrollment I’ll rent space. Let
me know if you want to be added to my student list. There’s no commitment either
way. When I decide to teach I’ll send an announcement and you can sign up if it
suits you.
Hi, Jo, I really admire your work. I am a mixed media artist in Port Townsend, WA and would love to be added to your list of upcoming classes. Thanks.
ReplyDeletemarilyn
I'd add your name if I knew who you are. I need an email addy.
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